Link building has been a cornerstone of search engine optimization since the early days of Google. When I first wrote about building backlinks in 2010, the tactics were straightforward: submit to directories, exchange links, drop comments on blogs, and watch your rankings climb. The fundamentals of why backlinks matter have not changed, but almost everything about how to earn them has.
Why Backlinks Still Matter
Google uses backlinks as one of its primary signals for determining how valuable and trustworthy a page is. Think of each link as a vote of confidence from another website. The more quality votes your page receives, the more likely Google is to rank it well for relevant search terms.
This basic principle has survived every major algorithm update. What has changed is Google's ability to distinguish between genuine editorial links and manufactured ones. The search engine has become remarkably good at identifying patterns that indicate manipulation.
What No Longer Works
Let me be direct about tactics that were common in 2010 but will hurt you today.
Mass directory submissions were once a go-to strategy. I used to recommend automated tools that would submit your site to hundreds of directories overnight. Google now largely ignores these links and may penalize sites that rely on them heavily.
Reciprocal link exchanges between unrelated sites are another relic. When two sites link to each other purely to inflate their backlink counts, Google sees through it. This does not mean you should never link to someone who links to you, but the relationship should be natural and relevant.
Article spinning and mass submission to article directories is dead. EzineArticles, ArticleBase, and most of the old directories have either shut down or lost all their authority.
Blog comment spam with keyword-rich anchor text is worse than useless. Most blogs now use nofollow tags on comment links, and Google actively devalues this type of link.
What Actually Builds Quality Backlinks in 2026
Create content worth linking to. This is not a platitude. The single most effective link building strategy is publishing something so useful, original, or comprehensive that other sites reference it naturally. Original research, detailed guides, unique data, and genuinely helpful tools all attract links without any outreach.
Guest posting on relevant, quality sites. Writing valuable content for established sites in your niche earns you a contextual link from a relevant source. The key word is valuable. Low-quality guest posts on irrelevant sites do not move the needle.
Build real relationships. Podcast appearances, joint ventures, collaborations, and genuine participation in your industry community all generate natural links. When people know you and respect your work, they link to you because they want to, not because you asked.
Earn mentions through expertise. Platforms like HARO (now Connectively) connect journalists with sources. Being quoted in publications earns authoritative backlinks that carry significant weight.
Create linkable assets. Free tools, calculators, templates, and original research studies give other sites a reason to link to you repeatedly. One great linkable asset can generate backlinks for years.
Link Diversity Still Matters
One principle from 2010 that still holds true is the importance of link diversity. Your backlink profile should include links from various types of sources: blogs, news sites, forums, social platforms, directories (selective, high-quality ones), and industry resources. A natural backlink profile has variety. If all your links come from one type of source, that is a red flag.
The Bottom Line
Building backlinks in 2026 requires more effort and more patience than it did in 2010, but the results are far more durable. A single high-quality editorial link from a respected site in your niche is worth more than a thousand directory submissions ever were. Focus on creating genuine value, building real relationships, and earning links rather than manufacturing them. The sites that take this approach are the ones that survive algorithm updates and build lasting organic traffic.
Looking forward to hearing about what products you’re reviewing. Backlinks have been making me dizzy the past few months, sometimes I just feel like I’m lost on the interwebz.
You will be the first to know, I promise.
I feel that way alot Loretta – just keep reading Mark and others.
At least we can all be lost together!
Hey Paul,
would you recommend automating the procedure or doing it yourself for safety sake?
Thanks
Lynsey Pat
Hey Lynsey — who is Paul?
Hi Mark,
I’m looking for ways to automate (or semi-automate) my backlinking system without hurting my websites. I look forward to hearing about the two semi-automated backlinking tools you are testing and the results.
Me too. I think the answer is to use a combination of 4 or 5 of these medium – aggressive strategies together — like 1 way links + automated article submitter + mystery package 1 + mystery package 2. That is the theory that I am testing.
Doing backlinks is a real pain in the behind!! its such a time waste. I have been told so many different things about what you should do and not to do and they all say different things. Some say the anchor text has to be the keyword you are trying to rank for and others say no that does not matter at all !! i supose its all down to test test and some more testing!
Well, let me end one confusion for you. Google considers the anchor text. Google the term “click here” (without the quotes). That is the adobe download page. It ranks for click here because there are a zillion pages that say “To Get Acrobat Reader, Click Here” — and click here is the link. So, anchor text does matter. I promise.
Interesting post.. good reminders on a few things, too.
I have two questions… I hear alot of talk about redirects but never info on HOW to do one… can you elaborate?
Also, somewhat unrelated is how to do a split test on a landing or offer page… is that something your hosting company manages for you?
2nd question about this post… you said you get a “do follow” link after 3 posts here. How do you determine 1) the nofollow / dofollow setting on a blog you are visiting and 2) what the setting is, like for your blog, for instance? Is it posted somewhere?
Thanks for all you do, Mark… you are one of my favorite Bloggers…
I think I was first introduced to you through Aaron at Full Tilt Blogging. 🙂
Christine
http://www.tasks-to-go.com
http://www.imwebgraphics.com
Hey Christine;
Thanks for the nice comment…I still talk to Aaron from time to time.
Redirects — many ways to do them. I prefer php http://php.about.com/od/learnphp/ht/phpredirection.htm
Split testing — I recommend Google Website Optimizer
See DO/NOFOLLOW — I recommend SEO For FireFox plugin
My comment policy is here http://www.masonworld.com/comment-policy/ but the DO/NOFOLLOW stuff is missing
Thanks… am definitely keeping those links and I’ll check them out later.
Say HI to Aaron for me… I was once his Babe of the Month…. LOL
Christine Tabor
Will do!
I made a video on creating a php redirect, it’s fast and easy 😉
Hope that helps Christine!
Mark
Thanks for the informative post. I heard that adding too many links too fast can cause Google to penalize or sandbox your site. Can you speak a little about this issue?
Hey Mike. Well, anything is possible. I have very little data on this (no one has data). However, I am quite sure that if you go get (somehow) 100,000 backlinks on a new site in one day, G will notice. On the other hand, 10 is no big deal. So the truth is in the middle between 10 and 100,000.
Now, most schemes create things that must be indexed. For example, if you submit your site to 100 website directories, it will be days (or weeks or months in some cases) before G gets around to indexing all of that. So, my rule of thumb is to stay between 10 and 100 links per day, since I know there will be a random indexing delay.
I’ve built a lot of sites. Only once, I had one deindexed. It was a cheap site built for a test. TeethWhiteningProfessor.com. It never returned. I never figured out exactly why, but on that site I was testing a new social bookmarking automation. The site was deindexed the next day.
That site is for sale, by the way — $1 obo. LOL
Ouch.
Mark – good stuff. When backlinking on a forum, or maybe an edu or gov site – would you attempt to backlink deeply or just to your homepage via a sig. file? If you were linking to a student loan site at a .edu site you could simply have a link via your signature file, or would it be better to to have a hot link (a href..your site…”student loans”) through your keyword phrase of “student loan”, or both? I wonder how kosher it is to place a direct or hot link in your post or link to a high pr site. Is it more likely to get tossed by the webmaster? Sorry for the many questions Mark – thanks!
Kent F.
This is a tricky question. Site links are always easier to get “approved” in these situations. But it depends on what you need. If you have a page that you need to rank, you may want to go for deep links for a while until you win the ranking that you need, knowing that you will lose some to moderation.
Another trick — 301 redirect a subdomain to the page and use the subdomain in your links. sometimes that is more likely to be approved, and the 301 (not 302) should pass the link juice.
HTH
This article was so helpful, but I need to learn more on the subject. I was wondering about the backlink value of my URL in a signature when I post on other sites. From what I am reading here, as long as these are relevant sites, this is useful, yes?
Thanks, Susan. When you comment on another site, two things can happen. First, someone can read your comment and click through to your site. You might be surprised how much that can add to your traffic if you are commenting on high-traffic pages. Second, your signature link can be a backlink in the eyes of the search engines.
Here is the next level of learning/complexity. Some links are DOFOLLOW and some links are NOFOLLOW. The webmaster at the site where you left the comment decides if he/she wants to have DOFOLLOW or NOFOLLOW links. A DOFOLLOW link helps your ranking, but search engines are supposed to ignore NOFOLLOW links. So, you want to try to comment on DOFOLLOW blogs. For example, my blog gives you a DOFOLLOW backlinks after you have 3 approved comments. I do this to keep the spam down.
Make sense?
Hi Mark, great post!
One thing I’ve wondered about recently is if it cool to use your keyword instead of your name when leaving a relevant comment on a blog like I’m doing now. I believe it helps because of the relevant anchor text.
Another really interesting thing I’ve come across is seeing sites that rank well with very few links and sites with loads of links not ranking that well. I guess all links aren’t created equal! Cheers, Charl
You definitely want to use your keywords (and related variations) whenever it is allowed. I don’t mind. In fact, you are reminding me that I need to play some tonight. Cannot wait to check out your podcast. Thanks for stopping by.
your post today is very relevent as up to 3 web linking sites came on the market this week including one new today! But what I am waiting for is the one from Josh that’s nearly ready to market and I guess this is one of the two that you are testing at this moment !
He promises it will be a one off fee (No monthly membership) with early bird discount and free upgrades for life, this is the one we should be waiting for and hopefully Mark you will be throwing in a bonus or two to come on board …. ps how did you set the DoFollow backlinks after 3 approved comments ?
Oh — comments manages with Lucys Link Love or something like that.
I will definately have a bonus (or two)….[smiles]. Nice guess.
It is also good to build links with DoFollow blogs and at the same time has a high page rank.
Great info Mark,
I am waiting for your review. Anything that makes backlinking easier and faster is welcomed.
I agree with both the deep linking and the use of linking with anchor text. I believe even Google published that this is preferred in their SEO guide.
– Rupps
Hi Mark
Thanks for your informative post.
I have been trying to get as much information as possible about back linking as it seems to have become the ‘holy grail’ of website performance. There are so many methods out there and so many opinions on what to do that, it’s good to get a balanced view on it.
I will be very interested in your testing results 🙂
Mark,
For a new site, how many backlinks do you do before moving on to the next site or project?
Great question — the short answer is that I start with 2x more than the competition on that page. So if the number 1 listing has 50, I go for 100.
Then I watch and keep adding links over time until I win or give up.
Wow you have a lot of responses on this one. I was focusing on creating quality content on a regular basis but this sounds like a good idea, build then drive traffic, simple as that.
Mark,
Great article and very useful information. I wondered if you could answer one or two questions regarding 301 redirect.
A year ago, I set up an online store through Cafepress and I was provided a domain: http://www.cafepress.com/mysite. Since the domain was long and hard to remember, I purchased a domain (ex. http://www.mysite.com) for marketing reasons. The site I purchased I made one page with an enter button that took my customers to my Cafepress store when it was clicked. I submitted both domains to major search engines and they were indexed in about a month.
Recently, I transfered my domain for http://www.mysite.com to Godaddy and set up a forwarding service they have. It forwards my site to my Cafepress store using a 301 redirect code. I like this better because it takes my customer straight to my store. However, I noticed a few weeks ago that my site is no longer indexed with google as it was before. Yet, it has a Pagerank of 3. I have read various articles stating that a forwarding URL hurts SEO and indexing, and I have read others who say it does not.
Is the set-up I am using hurtful for the SEO of my site? Further, when I build backlinks, which should domain should I use? The actualy URL of the store, or domain that is Pageranked 3?
Hey Mark, I just came across a tool that completely blew me away. I did a review of it on my blog at http://niche365.com/review/serpassist which comes with a $20 discount code. Having tried the SE Nuke and Brute Force solutions I am convinced that this is the future… Recently out of Beta it is still very competitively priced. I wouldnt be surprised as its list of sites grows that it quadruples or more.
Other than that I use Bookmarking Demon and some of Incansofts solutions but I find the captchas a pain! Looking forward to their launch of Project Enigma or whatever its called that sounds interesting….
It actually really pains me that I have to build links at all…. I like to believe that if you build the quality they will come… Sadly it just doesnt seem to be true….